A tweet from someone I think will be a star in country music, Kat Hasty, caught my attention the other day.
“The scary thing about alcoholism in the music industry is that unless you’re an angry or irresponsible drunk you can pretty much disguise being an alcoholic for just having fun & being on the road. This is a real problem that needs real attention and help.”
the scary thing about alcoholism in the music industry is that unless you’re an angry or irresponsible drunk you can pretty much disguise being an alcoholic for just having fun & being on the road. this is a real problem that needs real attention and help
— kat hasty (@kathasty) February 8, 2021
She continues…
“If you are ever feeling you may have a stronger hold on alcohol than the people around you, or you can’t stop even though you want to or you just need someone to talk to about it, my DMs are open. There is real professional help out there and there are many other musicians that have gone through this and conquered their addictions. You are not alone!”
Incredibly said, Kat. If you’ve been around alcoholism in any way, you know exactly what she’s talking about here.
Now, Morgan Wallen didn’t come out and say he was an alcoholic explicitly, but he made it clear he does not like who he is when drunk.
To be clear, he said do not defend him and his actions.
“I have one favor to ask, I appreciate those who still see something in me and have defended me, but for today please don’t. I was wrong. It’s on me to take ownership for this and I fully accept any penalties I’m facing.”
In that video, he also touched on the alcohol in pretty good detail. While of course it’s not an excuse for his actions in any way, it sheds a light on what Kat tweeted about.
“…the video you saw was me on hour 72 of 72, of a bender…and that’s not something I’m proud of either.”
(Being on a bender does not make you say the n-word, as well all know…)
However, he did mention sobriety as well.
“Since that video was taken I’ve been sober for 9 days. It’s not all that long of a time, but it’s enough to know that the man in that video is not who I want to be…so I decided to go off the grid for a while.”
Do a quick search on Twitter and you will see countless tweets both calling out Wallen for his actions, but also wondering what kind of toxic relationship he has with alcohol. Isbell took the time to respond to one addressed to him specifically.
I didn’t say “tar and feather the boy.” If he makes real change, his life will be just fine. But if he isn’t held accountable, black people in the industry will know how little country music really cares about them, even now. And that’s much sadder to me than alcoholism. https://t.co/G1wVwpzI6V
— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) February 4, 2021
Will Morgan make real change? Time will tell…
“Between alcohol and women and Aderall and adrenaline
I don’t ever get no rest
Sign my life away to be the life of the party
Yeah, to everybody else”
